High Notes, Vol 5 No 4, February 20 2004

From the Principal

What do parents want from secondary schools?
Is Mr Nelson right when as Federal Education Minister he suggests that parents are seeking:
identity, discipline and values when choosing a secondary school for their sons? Is quality
teaching the real issue? Quality teaching (according to some recent research in Victoria), is
enhanced by schools having systems and policies for teacher learning, opportunities for
professional discussion, alignment of teaching practice as both outcome and influence, and support
and celebration for teacher and student learning. High certainly has identity as a high profile
school. We continue to state explicitly our values and support their growth through the application
of resources and personnel. Are we considered a school with good discipline? We have well thought
out procedures backed up by electronic recording and monitoring systems. However, discipline begins
in individual classrooms where policies need to be applied and assistance sought if problems arise.
I urge more teachers to intervene early, even at low level disruption to the learning of others.
Refer individuals with interaction problems to peer mediation. Involve your Head Teacher when boys
do not respond to your efforts to engage themselves in the lessons you teach. To make sure we
produce quality teaching do not miss opportunities to enhance your own learning as teachers. The
school supports professional development at all levels. Let us focus on quality teaching and model
lifelong learning at High in 2004.

Saturday Sport 14/2
Despite the heavy outfield, the dew, the muggy atmosphere and a slow pitch, our first eleven
compiled a quite useful total of 173 against Scots, thanks largely to an unbeaten 74 by Matthew
Shiner. I was pleased to see the improvement in the pitch. It is flat now and the bounce is even
at both ends. With another season's input from Green Solutions and Ben Ingle, our Groundsman, I
am sure it will become faster and the ball will come onto the bat better. We have purchased a
ride-on mower for McKay, so slow outfields should become a thing of the past. Scots was
struggling at 3-78 by close of play and our total looked defensible. Our second grade basketball
had a big game against Scots, coming within a couple of baskets of upsetting them. Regrettably,
our first grade team had an off day, with low shooting percentages and way too many turnovers.
Scots kicked away to an 11 point lead in the first few minutes and we were never in the game from
then on. The boys defended quite well but were put off their own attack by a swarming Scots
defence. It was a very physical game. On a bright note, Cameron Conway had his best game for High
that I have seen and looked confident scoring and rebounding. First Grade tennis was played in
hot and windy conditions at Da Silva's in Kingsford. High defeated Scots 10-2. This was a strong
display by a team which is starting to find combination in the doubles and individual form in the
singles. Michael Hayes was dominant at No.1 winning 0 and 0. Dejan and Brian had good wins while
Tim and Peter regained confidence. Ivan displayed great ground strokes despite his loss to a
big-serving Scots player. The team is now gearing up for the premiership deciding round against
Riverview next Saturday.

Choosing a language in the senior school
At present only 11 students are studying a language in Year 11, while 23 students are HSC
candidates in languages. Mr Davies surveyed the 72 boys studying languages in Year 10. 92% of
them thought learning a language was an important life skill. 54% of respondents felt learning a
language was important for their careers. 57% of the students enjoyed studying a language. Only
16% thought the study was too challenging, while just 4% thought it was too challenging. A mere
6% spent more time studying languages than other subjects. 27% agreed that their teachers were
important factors in their decisions to continue or discontinue language study in the senior
school. 24% felt there was not enough technology employed in teaching languages. Despite their
generally positive responses to the survey, only 7 of the 51 respondents to the final question
declared they had chosen to study a language in Year 11. I think many more students and their
families should consider continuing in their study of a language other than English to HSC level.

As someone who studied two languages in the senior school, I have always defended the study of
languages as great mental training for life as well as a social / commercial / diplomatic skill.
It is sad to observe talented linguists deserting senior language courses in favour of supposedly
better UAI or tertiary prerequisite courses for which they may be less well suited.

Verbal harassment
Sydney Boys High has a zero tolerance policy for bullying. Bullying takes many forms. A greatly
reduced level of physical intimidation and harassment at High is highly commendable. However,
teasing, ostracising and low-level abuse have serious consequences for the mental health of
individuals. All teachers are asked to be vigilant and sensitive in trying to identify
individuals who may be suffering in silence from a drawn out campaign of verbal harassment. It is
claimed that more than 10% of adolescents suffer from debilitating stress, due mainly to the
effects of bullying. Prefects, SRC members and student leaders are also requested to intervene
when they observe instances of verbal harassment or attempted physical intimidation in the
playground, in corridors or at sporting venues. Offenders need to be told that what they are
doing is wrong and cannot be tolerated. Victims need to be shown ways to assert their rights.
Even in a very good school like High, improvements in school tone and individual enjoyment of
school life can still be made.

The Sydney Boys High School Sports Development Project
Sports MICs, P & C sub-committee chairs, sports coordinators and parents are invited to
support the development of sport at High. Tax deductible donations may be made to assist the
sport of your choice. A comprehensive donation form can be found on the school's web site. Big
projects for 2004 can be supported under the code Facility 9282131 include: cricket the
relocation of the cricket nets (need $15k.), basketball the replacement of basketball courts
(need $50k.), tennis the tennis court redevelopment (need $30k.). These projects cannot be
financed through the Building Fund because they are not 'buildings' within the definition
applicable to designated gift recipients. Rifle shooting needs funds to refurbish its facility at
Malabar. Let's get together and do as I do, donate to sports development each year!Return to Index

DSG PARKING DAY
Support is essential for continued success at SBHS
As part of fundraising for 2004 Debating has parking for the Waratahs V Sharks rugby match on
Saturday 28th February The game starts at 7.00pm so we need you to be at school by 4.30pm If you
can help on this day please call: Srian Abersuriya 9617 1959 or email Amal Wijeyaratne
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Return to Index

From Careers

At least 10,000 more university places will be axed over the next-three years, pushing up entry
scores and forcing students to take up full-fee-paying places, Howard Government figures re veal.

The brunt of the cuts will be borne by NSW universities, which will lose at least 4501 places,
according to figures obtained by the Herald.

Publicly funded universities have already begun to rein in undergraduate numbers in a bid to
avoid hefty government penalties for over-enrolling which begin next year.

When main-round offers were announced last week, NSW and the ACT offered 1500 fewer places than
in 2003, despite the number of applications increasing by nearly 2300.

Many prospective students will also be disappointed when second-round offers are announced next
week, with only a very small number of offers in a limited number of courses expected.

Responding to a Labor question in the Senate, the Department of Education, Science and Training
said 10,096 places would be "phased out" between 2005 and 2007, including 2024 in Queens land,
1707 in Victoria and 788 in Western Australia.

Yesterday, Labor's education spokeswoman, Jenny Mackli, said 25,000 university applicants had
missed out on a place in NSW this year and entry scores had risen for nearly two out of three
courses.

"This is a shocking waste of talent and it's set to get even worse," she said. "Howard Government
policies to cut places and allow 25 per cent fee hikes are making it harder and harder for
Australians to get the education they need. Labor will create 20,000 new places every year and
reverse the fee hikes."

The acting Education Minister, Peter McGauran, accused Labor of scaremongering, saying there
would be a significant net increase in tertiary places between 2005 and 2007.

"While excess over-enrolments are phased out, more than 33,000 places will be created," he said.

Of the 33,000, 25,000 already exist as over-enrolled places but Government has promised to fully
fund them. Most of the remainder do not come into effect until 2007.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney, Janice Reid, said it was in a
particularly precarious position with demand rising in the past three years.

"We turned away more than 2500 eligible students in both 2002 and 2003 and with an increase in
qualified first preferences of more than 30 per cent this year that number will be much higher,"
Professor Reid said. "At the same time our core Government grant is set to decline in real terms
until 2008."

A spokeswoman for the University of NSW said that next week it would "make a very small number of
second-round offers in a limited number of courses - arts, science and engineering".

The president of the NSW branch of the National Union of Students, Tim Chapman, said the Federal
Government had deliberately cut the number of places to make way for more full- fee paying
students in the future.

"Parents and students should be worried about getting a place at university because John Howard
is going to force them to pay up to $10,000 for a degree," Mr Chapman saidReturn to Index

From the MIC Swimming

I do not often feel compelled to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) but in my new role as MIC
Swimming at Sydney Boys High School I find myself so inclined.

In my first two GPS carnivals I have witnessed such touching and inspiring events that I feel
compelled to share them with the wider High community. I do so because at times I feel we forget
how privileged we are to be associated with such wonderful boys and tend to take them somewhat
for granted.

We have a GPS swimming team that is seriously short of personnel, yet week after week the same
small group swim themselves to the point of exhaustion. I am forever required to swim boys 'up'
into higher age groups (at the GPS level no less) yet the boys always acquiesce in a spirit of
cheerful commitment and wonderful camaraderie.

The wonderful High spirit starts at the very top with the captain, Tom - I have noticed that it
doesn't matter whether he is talking to a Year 11 boy or a Year 7 boy he treats them all with
great respect and attention and continuously reinforces and validates their value to this great
team. This is quite apart from the inspiration that we all gain from his unbeaten personal
performances in the water to date.

Where Tom's the flame Barry (the Vice Captain) is the fuel. A talented swimmer who (unfortunately
for him) is proficient in all strokes and is therefore required to swim in all events.

Last Friday (the Joey's Carnival) the team was particularly up against it! The rowers were at a
camp and this left me with an Open squad of two simmers (a bit difficult therefore to field a
six-man GPS relay team). But by some stroke of great fortune I had my first encounter with the
twins - Tom and Drew. However, things are never simple at swimming meets - one of the twins was
ill and they only had one pair of trunks between them. But we are forgetting that this is a High
team - I still don't know how they did it but both boys swam all evening and even managed to
compete in adjacent events!

The younger swimmers have also left me with me with a warm inner glow. Dean, the 13s swimmer who
has had to become a 15s specialist (we have only two swimmers in that age group) and Alik a Year
7 boy, who although has only been at the school for a matter of weeks already knows what the High
spirit is all about.

But in spite of the challenges of the mundane mechanics of administration once the gun fires and
the boys hit the water it is a different world. I feel absolutely privileged to watch the superb
performances of superstar swimmers of the future - Tom, Andrew and Ellis who make it a regular
habit to smash GPS records.R V Ockert MIC SwimmingReturn to Index

Travel Passes

In the last two weeks your sons have been issued their travel passes and literature regarding rules
of travel and behaviour. Below is a copy of the reverse side of your son's passes. Please read
carefully.

BUS PASS: (ON REVERSE SIDE OF PASS)

CONDITIONS OF USE
1. THIS PASS:
a). Is not transferable and may only be used by the person named on the front of the pass (the
holder).
b). Is valid for travel between holder's registered home address and school, on school days only
via the most direct means. Any extension of the journey must be paid for when boarding. The
return journey must be commenced by 6:30pm.
c). Is not valid for excursions, sports away from school, childcare or similar activity.
d). Must be validated when boarding the bus or appropriate fare paid. Must be shown on
demand.
e). Is invalid if illegible, damaged, mutilated or altered in any way.
f. Always remains the property of State Transit and may be withdrawn at its discretion.
g). Is issued on condition that the holder complies with the Ministry of Transport's Code of
Conduct whilst on State Transit services and premises.
2. The holder must not remain seated whilst adults stand.
3. Timetable services must not be boarded where appropriate school specials are provided.
4. Any change of name, school or address requires the holder to immediately present a new
application to the school.
5. Lost, stolen, damaged or mutilated passes MUST be replaced at the office of State Transit
after payment of a fee determined by the Ministry of Transport.

RAIL PASS: (ON REVERSE SIDE OF PASS)
Conditions for use of the free School Rail Pass
The holder of this pass agrees to comply with the relevant conditions of the Transport
Administration Act 1988 Including:
o Use only by the school pupil named on the front
o Use from and to stations named on the front for direct travel between home and school without
break of journey.
o Use only on school days, Monday to Friday for journeys commencing before 6.3Opm.
o Not occupying a seat when seats are not available for adults.

This pass always remains the property of City Rall. Any breach of conditions may result In its
confiscation and or cancellation.
Holders must use the automatic ticket gates at stations.Return to Index

Rowing Report

Rowing Report : High Notes Feb 20th
The competition last week was split between two venues as the 1st and 2nd VIIIs contested the State
Rowing Championships at Penrith and Year 10 and Junior crews took part in the Scots Regatta at Hen
and Chicken Bay.
Our senior VIIIs performed well in oppressively hot conditions but again just failed to qualify for
finals. We contested the State Under 21 Championships for VIIIs but were forced to withdraw from
the Schoolboy Championship as a result of injury to one of our rowers.
Out on Hen and Chicken Bay the Year 10 1st VIII had their best result of the season coming second
to Grammar and convincingly beating Joeys and Scots. Both the Year 8 3rd Quad and Year 9 3rd Quad
secured places in their heats.
All crews will race at Hen and Chicken Bay this Saturday, marking the half-way point in the season.
High spirit is in evidence throughout the shed, but the boys need all the encouragement they can
get to push (pull) on and improve for the Gold Cup and Head of the River regattas. Parents and
supporters are encouraged to get along to the racing. Bayview Park on a Saturday morning is a very
pleasant place to be. Tonight the Year 10 Boatshed Dinner will be held at the Outterside Centre,
followed by the Junior Dinner on 17thMarch. Another important date to note is the High regatta
scheduled for 6th March. The Rowing Committee will need all available hands on this date as we will
host a Junior regatta at Hen and Chicken while our seniors will be out at Penrith.Steve TiedgenReturn to Index

Update on prizewinners for Speech Night

The following students have been added to the list of prizes printed in last week's High Notes.
CONGRATULATIONS

Prizewinners should acknowledge awareness of the prize with their Year Adviser ASAP.

Advise Ms May if there are any corrections to be made ASAP.

Advise Parents that they will need to be at school by 7.00pm on Tuesday 24 February in best
school attire.

Invite their family and friends to the evening.

Keep their ears and eyes open for further instructions.

Attend the rehearsal on Tuesday 24/2/03 during the school day.

Be aware that the monetary component of prizes is available only to students attending the
evening unless exceptional circumstances prevent his attendance.

Consider sleeping over at friends attending the evening if distances to travel make your
attendance difficult.

Sydney Boys High Cricket

What a difference a week can make plus some genuine effort at training and individual application
on the field as the results show a remarkable turn around for the 14Bs, 13As, 13Bs and 13Cs.
Add to those solid performances on Day 1 of the First and Second XIs fixtures, as well as a team
that got on the bus to go home with five overs to go before the "Competitive Gentlemen's XI"
overtook their score, denying Cameron Conway a century when he was then 86 not out -including 15
boundaries.
Scots felt the new intensity that players are showing as we strive to achieve that winning feeling
on a consistent basis and all teams certainly showed that High when it all comes together will be a
force in GPS competition. We are starting to develop a "hungry attitude" to win cricket matches and
assert High's position in the GPS comp.

AROUND THE GROUNDS Saturday 14th February 2004
First XI - High won the toss and elected to bat, only to see the top order fail to provide a
platform for a 230 plus score and after being 3 wickets for 20, 4 for 50 and 5 for 80 earlier,
but recovering to finish with a total of 173 All out off 73 overs. The Skipper Matthew Shiner
continued his consistent season form with a solid knock of 74 n.o. with Sam Samarasinghe 20 and
Ben Friis O'Toole 14 the only real contributors. Scots in reply saw Adrian Jeyendra rip through
their top order taking 3 for 16 from 6 overs and at stumps were 3 wickets for 78 off 31 overs.
McKay No1 in our first outing was much improved on last season and played with a consistent low
bounce at both ends.

Second XI - were sent into the field by Scots who made hard work of it in the first 25 overs
through some tight bowling and 225 from 71 overs. A tribute to the High bowlers in Krishan and
Sahaj who took 7 wickets between them and a mammoth effort by Nirushan taking 3 wickets from 22
overs at less than 3 runs per over. Mark Samarasinghe returning from injury and using the wicket
keeping clinic to sharpen his skills took 5 catches behind the stumps and added to the Seconds
record book for the number of dismissals in one innings. Well done to all for a great effort. The
only thing left to do now, is to knock over the 199 runs to win from 510 balls (85 overs) on
Day2. Patience, good shot selection and smart running between wickets will see the Seconds
achieve success
Scots All out 225 (71 overs) Krishan Shantikumar 4 for 36 (12 overs), Nirushan Raveendirin 3 for
62 (22 overs), Sahaj Singh 3 for 31 (9 overs)
High 1wicket for 27 (Nimilan Nadarajamoorthy 13no)

The "Competitive Gentlemen's Fourth XI" the CGFX continued on their swashbuckling way with their
third successive win this term making it 4 wins from the last 6 matches. Made up of Water Polo,
Basketball, Rugby and Soccer players who put in for High twice each Saturday (or keep fit for the
winter sports) display an "interesting" style of cricket? One thing is obvious with this team is
the fact that they are competitive, have no respect for bowlers and consistently annihilate them
at the crease. Still our best performed team.
Cameron Conway with 15 boundaries was well on his way to a century and finished with 86 n.o. as
the opposition bus left early with Warren Logge 19 and Drew Hoare 16 also chipping in
St Gregory's - All out 182 (27 overs) Dominic Byrne 4 for 25 and Will Kwok 2 for 16. Tom Hoare 2
catches.
High- 7 wickets for 143 (with 30 balls still to be bowled and 40 runs for victory).
"Lozza's Decision" - Won by High on a forfeit, or capitulation by the opposition. Without doubt.
!!!

15 Bs -Winners. But alas no report filed.

14 Bs Winners. After a cricket lesson in the batting arena last week by Shore, (although High
nearly pulled off an outright after losing on the first innings) this week saw a determined
batting bowling and fielding performance from a team who went out "to let Scots know that we're
no easy beats at High". Scots batted first and put together 8 for 100 (off 32 overs) facing a
determined High attack with Arunan Kandasamy taking 3 wickets for 20 (6 overs), Dominic Bowes 2
wickets and marvellous fielding efforts from Ben Tseng and Shreyas Iyer (who cut off many fours),
plus three team catches and a run out showed Scots that High meant business. With a run rate of
3.125 required High stormed home at 4.12 runs per over in just 25 overs to claim victory. Arunan
Kandasamy completed a great double scoring 29, runs also from Varan Peranathan with Nicholas
Lochner 25.n.o. and Dominic Bowes 5 n.o. hitting the winning runs.
Scots 8 wickets for 100 (32 overs)
High 4 wickets for 101 (24.3 overs)

Our new Year 7 teams the 13As, Bs and Cs showed some real grit in their second official match,
after many absent players left teams short on Day 1 which is unacceptable for those boys who made
the effort and battled on with six to eight players in each of the three teams. However teams
were in better shape for Day 2 and the improvements in results is a credit to a great bunch of
"tryers".

13As - no scores available.

13Bs - At McKay oval hit back and gave Scot's a fright.
Scots 9 for 112
Josh Tassell 3 for 7 off 4 overs and Hugo Richards 4 for 35 off 5 overs Rahjev Saggar and Timothy
Lin each taking 1 wicket
High 8 wickets for 73 (playing 2 short in the batting line-up/fielding) Hugo Richards 41 Ritam
Mutra 10
The fielding was pretty good all round but our catching fell short of the mark, however we got 9
of those Scot's wickets by nothing short of a great team effort. Congratulations

13Cs - who made a Total of 15 runs on Day.1. with only 6 players
High - 8 wickets for 55 ( playing 1 short in the batting line-up / fielding) Beau Greenslade 4,
Tim Burston 5 and Taynan Choudhury 4 and young Simon Chung (the smallest player in our cricket
community) scored 2 single runs. Well done boys keep it up.
Scots - passed our score with 6 wickets down

Wicket Keepers Clinic - Day 2 will be conducted next Thursday 25th February from 3- 30pm -
5-00pm.
Eight Keepers attended Day 1 and all keepers are invited to nominate for Day 2. Advanced
technique and keeping to spin bowling will be the focus. Congratulations to Mark Samarasinghe who
took 5 catches last Saturday. Was this the result of the Clinic coaching ???

The Cricket Dinner and Presentation will be held on Saturday 3rd April from 6-30pm in the Great
Hall. Bookings will open on the 1st March at the School Office and further information will be
provided in High Notes. This is a great Night and we always have special cricket guest speakers.
Put this in your diaries as you read these notes.

Cricket Committee Parking. We have been allocated the following dates to assist our funds in
providing those extras for our teams which adds to the enjoyment in playing with High
Cricket.
Sunday 14th March 2004. Roosters vs Rabbitohs commencing at 6-0pm
Saturday 24th April 2004. Waratahs vs Brumbies commencing at 7-40pm

Good luck to all teams on Saturday 21st February versus Scots (Group 1) and St Ignatius
(Riverview)

State of the Arts

Music Parking
We would like to thank the following students and parents for giving up their time on Valentines
Day to help with the music parking on Saturday.
Lachlan and Katherine Deacon, Louis Yang and Feng Liu, Victor Sirinopakul, Daniel O'Keefe and Edna
Koritschoner, Max and James Keldoulis, Steven Chen, Chung and Philip Ho, Christopher Jahja, Dominic
Brynes

Performing Arts Ensemble Members.
The music department would like to congratulate the following students who have successfully
auditioned for a place in the performing arts Unit ensembles.

Simon Chadwick

Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble

Thomas Norrie

Symphony Orchestra

Raj Kumar

Symphony Orchestra

Harry Walker

Symphony Orchestra

Joshua Freiman

Symphonic Wind Ensemble

Commitment to the Music Program
In order to maintain high morale and performance standards in our ensembles, we request that all
boys adhere to the following statement:

'Do everything you can do to enable the ensemble to play good music well at all times' (Pearson
84)

Rehearsals:
All members of the ensemble must attend all rehearsals. These count toward your award scheme and
any absences must be explained in writing by a parent or guardian.
Punctuality is expected. If you arrive at your rehearsal after the roll has been called, then you
are deemed late and an explanation must be given. Rehearsals start at 7.30am.
All boys are responsible for setting up and packing up the equipment.Performances: are mandatory in order to collect your award scheme points.Home practice. Boys are expected to collect their music folder from the music staff room
at either recess or lunchtime to make a practice copy and then return it to the music staffroom.
There are photocopiers in the library. Copy cards are available from the office. Please note that
school music folders are not to be taken home.Performance uniform. The performance uniform for all ensembles is White shirt, school
pants, tie, and blazer. Now is a good time to order your school blazer so you have one for the
Winter Festival.Return to Index

From Tennis

1st Grade Match Report February 14 2004 Vs Scots

Following our overly lacklustre victory over Shore in round one, High was keen to atone for this
with a strong performance against another first-up winner in Scots. It was important for us to
lay with the ferocity which has made us a powerhouse of the GPS in recent years. We did not let
anyone down.

It may have been St Valentine's Day, but there was no love lost between the two sides. With the
move to toughen up on the first two doubles matches paying dividends, we had the chance to seal
victory with three singles victories. We ended up two better than this with a seven matches to
two rout of the opposition. Michael Hayes was swash-buckling in his demolition of a player who
was not second-rate. Ivan Cerecina showed signs of hitting his straps during his match. Dejan
Bodrizic seemingly toyed with Scots' number two offering, whilst Brian Ly showed some of the
talent for which he has become reputable in his victory. Tim Neville and Peter Pereira recorded
victories to polish off the already-secured victory.

Whilst we can reflect on a generally sound performance, there is no doubt that if we are to
successfully overcome Riverview next week, we are going to have to raise the bar a few notches.
The signs certainly are there that this team has the ability to defeat Riverview. However, we
have not defeated Riverview at Lane Cove for what seems an eternity. In rowing terms, this is our
Head of the River. One way other people can help out is by coming to support us. As we can all
testify, the rent-a-crowds simply are not the same. It would be a massive help to neutralise the
parochial Riverview supporters, and would go a long way to keeping the High 1st Grade juggernaut
rolling.Peter PereiraReturn to Index